Warm Me With Your Touch
by ZutaraFan95
Summary: A blizzard comes in the South Pole and Mako is Korra's only source for warmth


Korra had always been cold. Growing up in the Southern Water Tribe, the wind seeped through her bones and settled there permanently. Maybe that's why her heart was hard? No matter how anyone tried to crack it, they would end up getting hurt (sometimes physically). Korra could handle anything. Or so she thought. She could handle an ambush of Equalists or intense air bending training with Tenzin. She could handle leaving her home to become a fully realized Avatar. She could even handle the weight of the world's problems on her shoulders. But why had he walked into her life? This pain was more than she could bear. Her icy heart threatened to break and shatter. Why you, stupid, stupid boy did I ever have to lay eyes on you?

Mako took Korra's hand and laid it on his broad chest. She breathed in and out slowly to calm her nerves. "Relax," she told herself, "this is just training." She couldn't help but notice how warm his body was. Were all fire benders that way? He seemed to radiate heat and melt her with his body. "Focus Korra!" She shook her head and tried to listen to what Mako was saying.  
"You see how my heart beats in a rhythm? It's a pattern. All fighting styles can boil down to this. If you can figure out your opponent's battle tactics, you can always beat them."  
"Okay, okay I get it now! Can we please go back to sparring?" She yanked her hand away and positioned herself into a fighting stance.  
"Have it your way." They bowed and began. Korra was the first to make a move. She punched the air with her fists straight at Mako's obnoxious face. He ducked and avoided her easily. She did a round house kick and grazed his chest. He grabbed her leg, twisted it, and sent her flying into the snow. 'You're not going to beat me on my own turf.' She spun her body wildly and sent a flurry of snow his way. He melted it away with his flames turning it to liquid. She scowled. She turned the droplets back into icicles and aimed them at Mako like daggers. He sidestepped them.  
"I thought the Avatar would be more of a challenge." He studied his fingers, bored. She shot flames out of her fists enraged.  
"You're not even fighting back! All you're doing is avoiding my attacks!"  
"I don't have to attack you if you're doing all the work." She shot at him blindly. Gods! He drove her insane! Suddenly Mako's leg had locked around hers and she was trapped in his embrace. Her breathing was heavy. She could see it spew from her mouth. Mako didn't even seem to notice. His body was like a space-heater. He grabbed her brown hands and cupped them with his own. The ice that had formed on the tips melted immediately. She could have stayed like that forever if she hadn't remembered she was mad at him. She jerked away and yanked on her parka.  
"Don't touch me! I can warm my own hands thank you." She stomped back to her tent, leaving Mako staring at her as she walked away.

"How can you live like this, K-Korra?" Bolin was huddled up in a corner of their tent with all the blankets he could find. His face was still blue.  
"I-I'm g-going to d-die!" he wailed. "My f-face is g-going to f-fall off!" His teeth chattered. Korra couldn't help but laugh at her friend. Sticking an earth bender into the icy tundra wasn't exactly the best idea.  
"You'll get used to it, Bolin."  
"N-no I-I'm not. I-I'm not a f-fire bender like m-my b-brother." Korra scowled at the mention of Mako. She kicked at his stuff scattering it across the floor.  
"W-what did you d-do that f-for?" Bolin cocked his head at her.  
"Your stupid brother is a self-obsessed bastard!" She thought of how he had tried to tell her how to fight. She knew how to fight! She was the Avatar for heaven's sake.  
"T-tell m-me something I-I don't know." Her mind wandered back to his warm touch. What else could he warm with his hands? Was he naturally warm all over?"  
"K-Korra w-hy is your f-face all r-red?" Korra snapped back to attention and spluttered stupidly.  
"N-nothing! Go back to your shivering." She went to her own tent and buried herself down in her sleeping bag, moping.

That night there was a terrible blizzard. The winds howled with rage all night. Even Korra, who was used to the ice and snow, shivered in her sleeping bag. Her body refused to get warm. She slipped on her parka and all the blankets she could find. Still she shivered. Her teeth chattered until she thought they would bounce right out of her mouth. She blew a flame out of her mouth to stay warm but it was snuffed out by the cold. She gave up. Korra heard her tent unzip. She couldn't even see who it was the wind blew so fiercely. A warm body settled into her bag and crept up against her.  
"S-so c-cold." She whispered. Hands pulled off all her blankets and parka. Her pants and shirt were tossed aside until all that was left were her undergarments. She snuggled up to Mako's chest and sighed. Her shivering stopped abruptly and warm heat seeped through her body.  
"How did you know I needed a fire bender?" Her voice came out groggy and unsteady. Already the heat was pulling her under.  
"Because you're so predictable, Korra." He lifted her hand up to his heart. She studied the beating in his body and matched it with her own. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Finally nothing was heard but the howling of the snow.


End file.
